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Parents' Guide to

ToonDoo

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Free reign for kids' creativity -- browse with caution.

Website http://www.toondoo.com/
ToonDoo Poster Image

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age 9+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Nijek I.
Nijek I. Parent
January 3, 2017
age 7+
nohtr
nohtr Adult
March 31, 2015
age 10+

Toondoo (and why it not to use it)

So recently, i have had the "pleasure" of using Toondoo for a school project. I simply had to make a 3 panel comic. Nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. The creation tools are buggy and spastic, the shapes and various things you can place are random, annoying, and largely useless, and the website misregistered my "rotate" as a "delete" and deleted the contents of the comic twice. Aside from that, many of the shapes have no place on the site. Political party symbols, various brand symbols, etc. Overall, it was grating and thoroughly unpleasant. Coming from someone who has significant experience with computers, and sadly, comics (shoutout to all the teachers who make us do comics), i'd just keep looking for another site.
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What’s It About?

Kids can use ToonDoo to create and share single- multi-panel comic strips. The cartoon tool offers an impressive amount of creative control: Kids can sketch their own images or use clip art. They can also \"like\" other users' cartoons or add captions, if the artist is OK with it. Some of the user-created content isn't for kids -- but if you encourage your child to stick to just using the cartoon tool to make comics, the site can offer helpful storytelling and writing practice.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Billed as the world's fastest way to create cartoons, TOONDOO also offers kids an outlet to share their comics. Unlike some cartoon sites, which only allow you to import images, ToonDoo offers an ample library of clip art and the ability to doodle your own pictures. The site also has some nifty ways of encouraging users to participate: In addition to making their own comic, users can also like other creations or add captions to other users' cartoons, if the owner allows it. However, you may not want your child aimlessly flipping through all the content on the site: Although some images may provide artistic inspiration, others contain nudity, bad language, and other for-adults-only items.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the challenges of telling a story with more pictures than words. How can you show action using only still images?

  • Kids may be used to hearing or reading stories, but creating their own is a whole new experience. Talk about a recent event in your child's life that could be turned into a comic strip: What would the beginning, middle, and end be? How could you illustrate the action?

  • Some comics on the site include swears, gory violence, and other adult themes. When your child is ready to create a cartoon, discuss what images and story elements might not be appropriate to use -- even though it might seem OK at first because they aren't being depicted in real life (such as in a photograph).

Website Details

  • Subjects: Arts : drawing, photography, Language & Reading : storytelling, writing clearly
  • Skills: Communication : conveying messages effectively, presenting, Creativity : imagination, producing new content
  • Genre: Creating
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Last updated: November 5, 2015

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